Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-12-02
CHEAP RATES.
The Demand f1r Nat r,sd si'i :" I'm.
migration sud tnr heasOR WY
Texas Makes no Progress
Texas Railroads Can assist Texas In an
Immigration Boom-Thc Question LIS,
vim tho Railroads DO II?
TWO REASONS ASSIGNED.
Dallas News.

For sometime the News has been in re-
ceipt of attractive literature from the
Texas railroads announcing cheap rates
from all points in Texas to points in other
states, more especially California. But
in all this advertising there is nowhere to
| be found cheap rate from the outside
into Texas, and to an outsider the infer
ence would be that some great calamity
was about TO visit the state and the only
escape from the impending danger was in
instant fight. But from a conversation
on yesterday with couple of experienced
railroad officials, News repo rter was
given to understand that the present state
OF affairs is the result of causes that have
| been at work for sometime.
One of the gentlemen said:
The chief trouble with immigration TO
Texas lies in the fact that al the princi-
pal Texas roads are more interested in
| building up other states aud sections of
states than they are in building up Texas,
and much Of 8 rush to Texas would have
tendency to depopulate the sections
which the roads have exercised such great
/ care in settling up. The Texas pool was
partly result Of this condition of things,
and the final result of the pool is to prsc-
1 ticslly reduce the roads of the state to one
ffosd. The people of Texas put up their hard
money and their lands to the different
railroads in the belief and hope that they
would get the benefits that naturally flow
from competition, but the passenger pool
has done away with the competition.
When the Texas Traffic Association was
formed, the northern roads all promised
that they would Immediately follow suit
in the abolition of commissions on tick
cts. But when they got the Texas roads
tied up they proceeded to rake IN the i'm
migrants, and Texas was-Where?
The passenger agents of the Texas
roads in the north and northwest are said
to be good and efficient men, but they are
seriously handicapped by being subordi-
nate to the frelghtmen aud freightmen OF
course do not care much for passenger
business. They have the title without the
authority and have to consult the freight
men at every turn. Moreover, they are
not allowed to pay commissions, and this
places them at disadvantage with the
passenger agents of northern lines, and
of course the ticket men al
ways endeavor to sell tickets
over the lines that pay them commissions,
against the n-commission paying lines
There is good deal of Texas literature in
the hands of the ticket agents of northern
roads, but the agents very naturally keep
it in the back ground in order to induce
the traveller to purchase ticket over
some road from which they will receive e
commission. All this, coupled with the
fact that the traveller is always on the
lookout for cheap rates, will explain why
the tide of emigration is not pushed in
the direction of Texas.
The policy of the northern roads is to
Il haul th@peOpIe into the new countries
Sfor waatever the people are willing to pay
fer The transportation, and they always
stand by any rate made by connecting
lines, whereas the Texas roads always
demand their full pro rata, For this res
son ticket agents on northern lines are
1cold on Texas business.
II The thing wanted is for the roads to
unite on Texas business as they have on
Californis business. 1t has taken three
years to work up the present California
boom. The Missouri Pacific inaugu-
rated this boom by making
low rate from Chicago three years ago,
and actually brought the excursionists
4 Eigeugh Texas. Tourists tickets were
1put on first. The tourists we're followed
by farmers, mechanics and investors.
The same course On the part Of the TeXss
railroads would create bigger boom foI
Texas, because there is better founda-
ton for boom here. Winter tourists
tickets should be put on, and put on al
once-not to q few places in the south
and in Mexico, but to all points in the
state, in North, West and Middle Texas,
as well as in the south. Kansas, Nebras-
ks and other northern sections were
settledsby people who paid about l cent
G mile to get into the coun-
try, regardless OF printed rate
sheets. The same can be done for Texas
if the people will only demand it, and
right now is the time TO act, as There are
!. thousands of people in the northwest, to
say nothing of the numbers in other Sec
tions, wanting to move this winter, and
these people will Of course go where
thsThaVe the best inducements, and as
II We endesvored to show, there are no in.
ducements for them to come TO Texas.
One family located in Texas will be worth
more to the road bringing it than dozen
families handled by tnat road through the
state to California, for in the latter case
the road will only get the passengers one
fare, whereas, in the former the family is
the nucleus of settlement and of bust
ness for the road.
The railroads will tell you that low
passenger rates will demoralize freight
rates and precipitate war, but tell you
they will not necessarily do anything OF
the kind. Passenger rates are now and
have been for some time very low TO Cali
! tornis, but the freight business is fine. In
fact the passenger business makes the
freight business better, and the increased
freight traffic arising from the passenger
boom more than compensates for the diff
;; ference between the regular passenger
fare and that at which people are now be,
ing carried.
The northern lines could now very well
: afford to abolish commissions, seeing
, they have got the country pretty well
settled up, but that has nothing to dc
with the case Of Texas. Texas wants
population and the way to get it, is to
: pursue the methods that have worked sc
successfully in other sections of the
country.
J The California boom is q bonanza fol
~ "a